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Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Bio: Ann Lee Miller
earned a BA in creative writing from Ashland (OH) University and writes
full-time in Phoenix, but left her heart in New Smyrna Beach, Florida,
where she grew up. She loves speaking to young adults and guest lectures on
writing at several Arizona
colleges. When she isn’t writing or muddling through some crisis—real or
imagined—you’ll find her hiking in the SuperstitionMountains
with her husband or meddling in her kids’ lives.

Note: Anyone who would
like to receive a free e-book copy of Kicking
Eternity may request one on the contact page at www.AnnLeeMiller.com.

Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters.

Some heroines include parts of me, but writers are vultures.
We circle our lives and pick the flesh off everyone around us.

What is the quirkiest
thing you have ever done?

I can’t take credit for this, but my father spent several
years building a forty-foot sailboat in our backyard. We launched it in the Miami River and lived aboard at Dinner Key Marina when I
was eleven until I turned thirteen. At the time I didn’t realize how unusual it
was to live on a boat and ride my bicycle down the dock each morning to attend
school. All my friends at the marina did the same. After school every day, I
tossed my books onto my bunk, shimmied into a swimsuit, and jumped overboard.
Sailboats show up in all my books thus far.

When did you first
discover that you were a writer?

I always say I became a writer the year I discovered Sister
Sheila had hair. I was in fifth grade at St. Hugh’s CatholicSchool in Miami, knee deep in nouns and verbs, when
Sister Sheila walked through the door in a new habit that showed two inches of
mouse brown hair threaded with silver. Thanks to Sister’s encouragement, I went
on to earn a BA in creative writing from Ashland (OH) University. I’ve been
writing novels for the past fifteen years.

Tell us the range of
the kinds of books you enjoy reading.

I especially enjoy reading romance and coming of age
stories. My favorite authors are Charles Martin, Francine Rivers, Anne Rivers
Siddon, and Ann Brashares (The Sisterhood
of the Traveling Pants).

How do you keep your
sanity in our run, run, run world?

I start my day by spending time with God. That’s the easy
part. The hard part is having the self discipline to stay off the internet
until I have accomplished the day’s writing. If I check my e-mail or plug into
Facebook, my brain gets cluttered and short circuits. I can’t focus and end up
frustrated, unproductive. I’ve always been nosey. I think that’s why the
internet is such a temptation. But I need a peaceful well to write from.

How do you choose
your characters’ names?

I use a stack of baby books. Names are difficult to choose
and hugely important. Sometimes I will change a character’s name after the book
is written, but I don’t recommend this.

What is the
accomplishment that you are most proud of?

I’m proud of completing four books. Writing them was the
most difficult thing I’ve ever done. When I won a swimming race or graduated
from college, I didn’t feel the sense of satisfaction I felt typing The End. In
addition to Kicking Eternity, The Art
of My Life debuts in September, Avra’s
God in December, and Tattered
Innocence next March.

If you were an
animal, which one would you be, and why?

A monkey. They look like they’re having fun swinging around.
I would go crazy lying around like my dog does all day!

What is your favorite
food?

Cheesecake.

What is the problem
with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it?

I detest plotting, but consider it a necessary evil. I plot
every scene for the whole book before I actually write the book. It takes…
forever. My first two books were written without plotting. Going back through
whole books to fix plot lines felt counterproductive. I tried Randy
Ingermanson’s Snowflake method of plotting for my third book and Karen
Wiesner’s First Draft In 30 Days for
my most recent book. I also use Jack Bickham’s Scene and Structure as I build scenes. To me, it feels so much
easier to make changes to the book’s skeleton than to rewrite large portions.

Tell us about the
featured book.

Kicking Eternity is all about chasing dreams—our dreams, God’s
dreams, and the mixed-up tangle of both.

Stuck in sleepy NewSmyrnaBeach
one last summer, Raine socks away her camp pay checks, worries about her druggy
brother, and ignores trouble: Cal Koomer. She’s a plane ticket away from
teaching orphans in Africa, and not even Cal’s
surfer six-pack and the chinks she spies in his rebel armor will derail her.

The artist in Cal
begs to paint Raine’s ivory skin, high cheek bones, and internal sparklers
behind her eyes, but falling for her would send him caterwauling into his
parents’ life. No thanks. The girl was self-righteous waiting to happen. Mom
served sanctimony like vegetables, three servings a day, and he had a gut full.

Rec Director Drew taunts her with “Rainey” and calls her an
enabler. He is so infernally there like a horsefly—till he buzzes
back to his ex.

Raine's brother tweaks. Her dream of Africa
dies small deaths. Will she figure out what to fight for and what to
free before it's too late?

For anyone who's ever wrestled with their dreams.

Please give us the
first page of the book.

Raine pushed the beads on her
African bracelet back and forth like the balls on an abacus. Her stomach
kneaded, gurgled. She could almost feel sweat dampen her upper lip.

Drew’s forehead creased as he
stared at her. Fluorescent tubes hummed overhead in the night air. Shouts and
back-slapping ricocheted around the Canteen porch in the sticky-sweet scent of
orange blossoms. If she wasn’t fighting to keep her dinner down, she’d tell him
where they’d met.

His frown melted into a smile of
recognition. “Rainey. Hey. Welcome to Triple S Camp.”

She bristled at the nickname her
brothers used to irritate her. “It’s Raine.”

“I remember you as Rainey from the skit you
did in junior high youth group. You cried all over the place—a pun on your
name.”

“That was my total acting career…
and ancient history. Better off forgotten. Please.”

“Sure, Rainey, whatever you say.”

“Drew!”

“You remember my name.”

“You weren’t exactly low profile
either.” She, like every girl in the youth group, had spent way too much time
mooning at the high-school-Drew hunched over his guitar.

Jesse, the camp director, gave a
shrill blast on his whistle. “Welcome to New Smyrna Beach Surf and Sailing Camp
orientation.”

13 comments:

Thanks so much for having me on your blog today! I'm looking forward to chatting with your readers. I'm starting out this morning in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and will catch up with you in Ashland, Ohio. Later this week, I'll return home to Phoenix. :)

Yay, another boater! This book only has one boat scene, but The Art of My Life, launching Sept.1, and Tattered Innocence, launching March 1, 2013, are both set on sailboats. I think you'll enjoy the ocean setting in Kicking Eternity, though.

I finished reading Kicking Eternity a couple of days ago. As soon as I started it I couldn't put it down! It was a great read. I'll be putting a review up on my blog soon, will let you know :)

Looking forward to your next book! I love the age group you have written about. I am wanting to write about the same, but my current YA starts with 16 year olds. I plan on following them through to their early 20s :)